Reminiscence
by Tsyoku
Summary: A familiar children's song awakens long gone memories in Squall, igniting a passion and love for someone who belongs deep within him. Someone he loves and cherishes, but more than he ever knew. SquallEllone. Rated R for language, and possible scenes.
1. Prologue

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** Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy 8, but I do own a copy of the game. 

Please do not flame because this story seems very incestual [because Squall treats Ellone as a sister in the game, but they aren't, so I can make them do what I want! *cackle*] as it is not, and do not flame because Squall is rather OOC in my opinion. Anyway, please review!

** Reminiscence**

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** Prologue **

Dark, brooding eyes rose towards the stars, thin contemplation shivering beneath them. The quiet breath of the wind weaved through his hair, brushing gently across his face. The young man exhaled, white smoke streaming out from his open mouth. A lazy smile spread across his face as he watched the smoke create twisted shapes. 

_ Silence. How he liked it._

But the silence would not last for long. Children's laughter rippled through the air, interrupting the glorious silence. His trademark scowl blanketed his features again, his eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. He felt his hand slide to the handle of his beloved gunblade, wrapping his fingers around it. 

_ Maybe that could shut them up._

He sneered at the thought. Giving up all hope for any silence, he got up to retreat back to the Garden, his heavy boots landing heavily upon the cement. As he began to walk, he stopped, after hearing a riveting song reach his ears.

_ Ring-a-ring-a rosies,_

_ Pocket full of posies,   
Atishoo! Atishoo!_

_We all fall down!_

Instantly, his eyes tore back towards the children, who were laughing and dancing, over and over again. Their voices beat in his mind, digging up painful and unwanted memories. His gloved hands clutched his head in a weak attempt to stop the trail of thoughts, darkness claiming his eyes and mind for a few moments. But the happy shrieks of children only provoked his mind further. A flash of light ignited his vision, as a familiar scene appeared before his sight.

_ Squall stood silently, watching his companions play in the sand, chanting a rhyme and dancing hype-actively around the small bonfire. Their faces were alight from the glowing flames, the quiet lull of the ocean slowly comforting them. They all seemed so happy – without him. He turned his head, feeling left out. Suddenly, a voice erupted from the children. _

_ "Squally is alone! He's a loner!" _

_ The voice cackled evilly as a hand pointed towards him, taunting him and further driving him into unhappiness. Squall felt himself gathering strength into his fist, getting ready to fling it at the boy who had just spoken. _

_ "Stop that, Seify! That's mean!"_

_A second voice was heard on top. This time, it was said much more gracefully. A young girl pulled from the crowd, running and stumbling towards Squall. She finally reached him, panting with effort. She smiled at him, holding out a hand. "Hi! I'm Ellone! But I want chu to call me Sis! Wanna be friends?" For the first time, Squall smiled, slipping his own hand into hers. And then she dragged him towards the fire, making him join her and everyone else in the fun._

_ ***_

[1] _Rain poured down, matching the saddening emotions deep down in the young boy's heart. He stood alone, glumly staring out towards the horizon, waiting, waiting for a response from his beloved sis. "I miss you, sis..." he mumbled incoherently. His hands waved in vague, unknown gestures, his brown hair fluttering in the wind. He froze, tilting his neck, as if straining to hear something. He smiled. _

_"I know, sis. I will. I'll stay strong, even if you're not here,"_

_He nodded, unsure of himself. His hands hung limply at his sides, his body still rejecting the fact he would never see her again._

_ "Come back, sis..."_

_He stretched his hands out towards the distance, as if trying to wrap his hands around it all. His face was wet, a mixture of rain and tears. His heart was tearing, even though he was meant to stay strong. He hung his head in shame as he realised he couldn't cope without her. He couldn't stay strong without her._

_"I need you so much, sis..."_

_ And then he turned back inside._

Squall's eyes sprang open, surveying the surroundings in front of him. His eyes adjusted to the harsh, bright light. A bird chirped brightly outside, as the soft breeze blew the curtains. He forced himself up painfully, as he saw a jolly, plump woman standing in front of him. Squall immediately realised he was in the infirmary. "Good morning, Squall," Dr. Kadowaki said cheerfully. "Have a good rest?"

Squall immediately jumped up, walking stiffly towards the door. "Why am I here?" he spluttered through gritted teeth. His back was turned on the doctor, who answered his question. "You fainted last night. A young lady brought you in, from the quad," Squall sneered, walking out abruptly. "Stupid Kadowaki..." he muttered. He wandered down the familiar halls of the Garden, staring at the water features around him.

_ What happened to me? Why did I faint?  
  
_

He couldn't find any answers, no matter how hard he tried. When he finally reached his dormitory, Zell appeared by his side. "Yo, Squall, what's up?" he said. Zell began battling the air with his fists playfully, his sugar high getting the better of him. "Leave me alone, I'm tired," Squall drawled carelessly. He waved his hands casually and entered his dorm, slamming the door. "Geez, what's his problem?" Zell muttered, scratching his blonde head.

Squall threw himself down upon his bed, retrieving a black notebook and a pencil. Opening it, he gazed upon his sketches of a girl, about his age with short brown hair, clear blue eyes and a happy smile. He had no idea where she had come from, but he gained comfort from seeing her face. Gripping his pencil tightly, he let his imagination flow through the wood, allowing his hand freedom to draw things he was thinking. When completed, he dropped his pencil in shock, staring at his artwork. It was a rough pencil sketch of a stone building, with worn stone steps leading up to a young boy standing alone, staring out toward the horizon. 

He remembered what he had seen last night. Was this from the scene? He felt himself being thrown into confusion, as he picked up his pencil again. Scrawling words at the bottom of the page, he wrote:

_I can't bear to uphold this-_

_ This façade grows old_

_No more can I remember   
the memories I told,_

_I stretch my hand _

_ Towards your heart,_

_I just only wish_

_ For a new start._

He read over these words, surprised such sentences could come from him. He ran his finger over his scar. _Damn Seifer_. He thought. Maybe his gunblade had grazed his brain slightly, resulting in slight brain damage. Squall laughed bitterly at this. His dark eyes cast gravely over his work, as he slowly swept into a soft slumber again.

[1] I know this didn't really happen in the game, but you know the bit where Squall remembers about him younger and moping over Ellone? Well this is based on it, because I can't really remember what he said ^^;

Thanks for bearing with me and my errors, and reading this chapter to the end. It's a short prologue, so please understand. Anyway, review to tell me if you like it, or if you want me to change it in any way, I would love for some constructive criticism, or any advice of any kind. ^^;;

I just recently finished Final Fantasy X! But the ending is so touching... I think I'm going to write something on that.

Like it? Hate it? Just tell me... review!


	2. Visions and Memories

Before I start this fic, I want to apologise for not updating for so long. I've abandoned writing for quite a while now, due to a very severe case of writers' block. I still haven't overcome this obstacle yet (haha XD) but I'm willing to try to update, because I'm in need of something to do. ) Just be warned – my writing style has changed a bit in comparison to last year, so this chapter may be a bit different to the chapter before.

If you still remember me, have fun reading! 3

**Reminiscence**

Visions and Memories

Squall's eyes slowly opened, allowing sunlight to pour into them. He groaned as he forced himself to get up, and he sat on his bed, resting his head in his hands.

_That dream... that vision... I had it again._..

Who was that damned girl who haunted his dreams? He closed his eyes again, and watched a sweet brunette with short, bobby hair laughing cheerfully, wrapped in his arms.

_Cheerfully..._

That wasn't really a word that described Squall, or could even be used to relate Squall with. Nevertheless, he felt happy himself when he saw this girl, wrapped in his arms. He began to relax, enjoying the warm happiness, when a loud noise interfered with his enjoyment. His eyes sprang open, and reality flooded within his vision again. He growled in annoyance, his brow furrowing deeply. The warmth was no longer there.

"Protect her at all costs! Don't let her get injured!"

Squall abruptly stood up and strode over to his door, pulling it open to see what was happening. "What's going on?" he demanded, grabbing the closest person. A young man dressed in a white SeeD uniform struggled in his grasp, but Squall held tight. "What's going on?" he repeated. The white SeeD glared at him for a second, but saw the anger that radiated from him. "Ellone's being attacked in the training centre and I gotta go help her. Will you let go now?"

Squall scowled at the insolence of the man, but let go. "Whatever," he muttered. Grasping his gunblade at his waist, he ran behind the man, to the training centre. "Ellone..." he muttered to himself. _Goddamn, that name sounds fucking familiar..._

Racing into the training centre, he pushed through the heavy double sided doors and stopped dead in his tracks, when his eyes revealed an Elvoret hovering threateningly over a brunette with short, bobby hair. Squinting for a split second, Squall's eyes lingered upon the girl's face.

_She looks... familiar..._

His eyes looked towards the white SeeDs, uselessly shooting their pinwheels and guns at the Elvoret. He snorted. Evidently they've never dealt with animals before. He ran forward, ignoring the fact that he was getting in their line of fire.

"Hey! Get out of the way, you're gunna get shot!"

Squall carelessly waved his hand, as a sign of 'I don't care'. "Just back off. I got it handled."

The insolent white SeeDs ran to their commander, asking questions in confusion.

_Who is this guy? What the fuck's up with him? Is he fucking crazy? What shall we do?_

The commander laughed at these questions, and narrowed his eyes at Squall's leather-covered back. "Just let him be. We'll see what he can do,"

Squall drew his gunblade from his belt and smirked as he watched it shimmer dangerously. The Elvoret dived forward, clawing at him with its sharp talons. "Urgh..." Squall muttered, retaliating with his weapon, and dealing the foe a greater amount of damage than he knew.

The monster drew back in pain, and attempted to cast a Cura on itself. _Too bad, bitch. You're silenced. _Squall smirked, regaining his position and confidence. Holding his palm out, he muttered a few well-chosen words. The clouds above parted, allowing three spurts of lightning to stream down, zapping the monster and singeing his big-ass chin.

It roared in pain, diving forward at Squall in blind fury, trying to claw his eyes out. Of course, being the highly-trained SeeD that he was, Squall calmly ducked and dodged the wild attacks the monster threw at him, and managed to poke it a few times with his gunblade. Throwing out his palm again, he uttered a few more words, while he, the SeeDs and Ellone disappeared.

_I'm fucking tired of playing with this shit... I'll just let Quetzacoatl handle this..._

A bird-like monster appeared in place of the humans, but of course, he was much more eye-pleasing than the Elvoret. Flapping its wings and screeching a few times, he swooped at Elvoret, and struck him with his various thunder attacks. The Elvoret howled in pain, writhing and twitching on the ground, as Quetzacoatl flew away.

Ellone, Squall and the SeeDs appeared again, and they watched as the monster slowly disintegrated before their eyes. Twirling his blade in his fingers expertly, he flipped it back into its scabbard again, and spun around to see the sparkling brown eyes of Ellone.

His heart plummeted down his stomach, as he studied her petite features. Short, bobby hair, a cheerful smile. Graceful, beautiful. _Perfect_.

_What was her name again? Ellone?_

"Thanks... Squally. Thanks for saving me..." she breathed, smiling happily at him.

_Squally... Squally... where did I hear that from again?_

"You're welcome, Miss." He replied curtly. Her eyes lowered in disappointment. "You don't.... remember me?"

_No... I mean yes! Argh, where's she from?_

"Come, Ellone. We must be going now. Sir Laguna awaits." The SeeD commander called.

_Ellone... Squally... fuck, where the hell do I remember this from? _

"Alright!" Ellone replied. "Goodbye, Squall..." she whispered, and she turned to leave. A gloved hand clutched her shoulder, before she could move.

_Is it... could it be..?_

"Uh... hello, Sis..." Squall muttered. Ellone spun around, her face alight with another cheerful smile. "Squally!" she cried. Squall, for the first time in 10 years, grinned again. He tugged gently at her arm, before pulling her into a tight embrace.

_I missed you..._

is it scabbard? I'm not sure... might be sheath, but sheath's for a dagger. Please tell me! x3

Argh! I know, I know. Really really short chapter, right? Shouldn't be worth reading, right? Yeah, I got it. I can't type long chapters. I'm one of those short chapter people. Just like my height. Haha, I made myself feel bad. XD

Anyway, as you can tell, my writing style's changed. A lot. For the worse. I got it. Don't hate me. Just stick some **constructive** criticism in the reviews and I'll love you forever. Thanks for reading!


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